The 24th of Zil-Hajj marks the
anniversary of the auspicious occasion of Eid-e-Mubahila. This is the day of
victory of Muslims over Christians. The event of Mubahila occurred in the 10th
of Hijrah.

Najran was a fertile land
located in the Northern mountainous region of Yemen about 20 Kms from Sanaa.
About 40,000 Christians inhabited the land divided into 73 small towns. They
were idol worshipers historically just like the Arabs but a priest named Femeon,
a constructor by profession, preached Christianity in the area of Najran and
soon all the population converted to Christianity and Najran became a powerful
center of activities of Christians. They also constructed a church and named it
\'Kaba-e-Najran\'. They prayed and offered various offerings there which
resulted in an annual income of about two hundred thousand Dinars which was used
for the priest who lived and studied there.

After the conquest of Makkah
when Islam started spreading rapidly and the warring groups came under the flag
of Islam, the Holy Prophet(pbuh&hf) starting sending emissaries to the tribes
who had not yet accepted Islam. In 10 A.H. a similar message was sent to the
Christians of Najran and they were offered either to accept the teachings of
Islam or live in the protection of Muslims and give \'Jazia\' - a kind of fee
for protection services. When the Bishop of Najran received this message, he
invited all the scholars and influential people of Najran and asked them to
think and find a solution to this situation. This news spread rapidly among the
masses and some people got infuriated as well but the Bishop of Najran pacified
them and advised them to be mindful of the military might of the Islamic regime
and try to find a peaceful solution.

Christian mission heads to
Madina

After deliberations, it was
finally decided to send a mission to Madina and have a dialog with the Muslims.
A 14 member deligation headed by Aqib Saidawar and Abu Harisa started off for
Makkah. Abu Harisa was considered as the greatest Bishop and scholar of the
Christian world at that time and Aqib Sadawar was the biggest strategist and
negotiator of the time. When the delegation reached Madina, the people got
impressed by their lavish dressing and pomp and show since it was the first time
that a mission had arrived in such a manner.

When they entered the
Masjid-e-Nabawi, the Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) looked at the precious stones,
gold and silk clothes that they were wearing and turned away his face and did
not pay any attention to them. After a while when no one noticed their pomp and
show, they got out of the Masjid-e-Nabawi and met Hazrat Usman and
Ubaid-ur-Rehman outside and asked them as to why they were invited by the
Muslims and then treated in this manner. Hz Usman mentioned that he did not
have a clue about that but if they consult Imam Ali(a.s.), he would be able to
tell them what was going on. They took the delegation with them and arrived at
the house of Imam Ali(a.s.) and mentioned about the whole incidence to him. Imam
Ali(a.s.) said to the delegation that they were wearing dresses of silk and
ornaments of gold which depicted their superior mentality and that they should
take them off and dress simply. Only then the Prophet(pbuh&hf) would allow them
to visit him and entertain them. When they followed the instructions of Imam Ali(a.s.), they were allowed to visit
the Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) after the Prayers of Asar and have discussions
with him.

Proposal of Mubahila

After exchange of views on
several issues, the delegation did not seem to be willing to accept the
observations about the incorrect beliefs of Christianity and the logical
explanations proving the incorrectness of their beliefs. At that time Allah(swt)
send down the famous Ayat-e-Mubahila of the Quran:

Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf)
recited this Ayat and invited them for Mubahila - praying to God(swt) to destroy
and banish the liars.

Mubahila became necessary since
the Christian delegation was adamant to accept the truth. After some hesitations
the delegations asked to be given one day to reconsider their options and then
accepted to have the Mubahila after two days. In their consultations among
themselves, the grand Bishop Abu Harisa told his companions that if tomorrow,
Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) brings his companions and his tribesmen and military
might with him for Mubahila then they should accept the challange without fear
but if he brings only the members of his family, then never accept the
challenge.

Whom did the Prophet (pbuh &
hf) take with him

The Prophet Mohammad (pbuh & hf)
selected a place close to Madina for the Mubahila which was then cleaned and
prepared by Hazrat Salman Farsi (r.a.) and the next day the Christian delegation
reached the designated place. A number of muhajirren and ansaar also gathered at
the site. The Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh & hf) took with him Imam Hasan (a.s.),
Imam Hussain (a.s.), Bibi Fatima (s.a.) and Imam Ali (a.s.) and headed towards
the site in a manner that Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) was leading the group
holding Imam Hasan (a.s.) and Imam Hussain (a.s.) and Bibi Fatima (s.a.) was
behind him and Imam Ali (a.s.) was behind Bibi Fatima (s.a.).

Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) sat
down under a tree with these weighty personalities and said that when I pray to
God, you all should say \'Ameen\'. When the Christian delegation saw a woman,
two children and only one man with the Prophet(pbuh&hf), they got scared and
worried and Abu Harisa said \"O my christian friends, I am seeing such bright
faces that if they pray that God move this mountain from its place then the
mountain will be moved. I warn you do not have Mubahila with them or you all
will be destroyed and banished.\"

The Christian delegation was
still amazed and frightened when the brother of Abu Harisa, Karz ibn-e-Alqama
stated that \"O my fellows, it appears that Mohammad(pbuh&hf) is the same last
apostle and prophet that has been mentioned in our sacred books. We should not
have Mubahila with them because anyone who had Mubahila with the prophets in the
past as well were destroyed. Look around you and observe that the signs of your
destruction are appearing.\" When they looked around, they observed that the
entire atmosphere had changed and it appeared that a furious storm is in offing.

Result of the Mubahila

Witnessing this, they backed
off from the contest and requested that their friendship be accepted. Prophet
Mohammad(pbuh&hf) accepted their request and asked Imam Ali(a.s.) to write the
agreement according to which they Najran tribes accepted to pay \'Jazia\' and
live under the protection of the Muslims.

In response to the Prophet's message
calling on Christians to Islam, (in the 9thyear
of Hijrah), a deputation consisting of a Patriarch with 20 Christian
dignitaries, from a place 1200 miles south, set out as a fact‑finding mission
about Islam. Once in Medina they met with Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and as
expected, most of their questions were about the Messiah Jesus (a.s.), his
birth, his mother, and whether he was crucified or resurrected. The answers of
the Prophet were directly from the Holy Quran.

The Christians were baffled and amazed,
even bewildered. They were impressed with the sincerity of the Prophet and his
answers; and his fine qualities gained their trust.

Since an Ayah forMubaahala,
i.e., a challenge with a Du'aa, had been revealed to the Prophet (pbuh), he
suggested doing so in case they did not believe him. A Mubaahala is a spiritual
contest, it means thateach of the
two groups would pray to the Almighty asking for His damnation on those who are
false (telling lies). If Mubaahala were done, and Prophet Muhammad was
saying the truth, then Allah would doom the Christian group and whatever Allah
chooses to do to them would come to be! The Patriarch agreed to the Mubaahala,
and it was to be done at a certain place and time.

A large crowd gathered for the occasion
on the specified day. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with the 6 year old Al‑Hasan and
the 5 year old Al‑Husain, each holding one of his hands, and Ali and his wife
Fatima following, proceeded to the place for Mubaahala. These four werethe
dearest and closest to the heart of the Prophet (pbuh). No, the Prophet (pbuh)
did not choose a wife of his, an aunt, an uncle, a Sahaabi or anyone else,
instead he chose Ahlul Bayt. Muhammad (pbuh) took them because they represented
to him the very essence, the very ones, the highest in honor.

▪ The
Ayah said:Our children—and
Muhammad took Al‑Hasan and Al‑Husain;

▪ The
Ayah said:Our ladies—and
Muhammad took his daughter Fatima;

▪ The
Ayah said:Our selves—and
Muhammad took Ali as if Ali was the self of the Prophet.

Upon seeing this group the Patriarch
became startled, even frightened! Taken aback he hurriedly consulted with his
group. It became unquestionably obvious that Muhammad was saying only the
truth, otherwise he would have brought other than the closest people to him.
Thus, they reasoned that for Muhammad to call upon Allah for a curse would
certainly bring the damnation and ruin on these Christians. They knew Allah
would respond to a Prophet, and by conducting the Mubaahala their lot would be
ruin!

Having thus debated the matter, the
Patriarch came forth with a look of relief. He acknowledged to Muhammad and
opted for immediate withdrawal from the Mubaahala! The Patriarch also said: “If
it weren't for my obligations with the Emperor I would have right away changed
to Islam!”

The TermOurselves
in Mubaahala

For the Mubaahala the Holy Quran asked
Muhammad (pbuh) to bring forth persons (in the plural) who would be the replica
of himself. The Prophet (pbuh) chose Ali (a.s.), since no one else would do,
Ali was the replica, the mirror image, the very one! This implies that Ali had
the identity in reflection of thought, spirituality, action, and motivations to
such an extent that at any time one would represent the other.

Ali then is the replica of theself
of the Prophet (pbuh),the true
representation of him. Ali was in the Prophet’s eyes:the
figurative brother, supporter, deputy and defender. Ali's idealism,
thinking, and spiritual make‑up were a mirror image to those of the Prophet (pbuh).

Many Muslim scholars, commentators and
Traditionists whom the Ummahacclaims
with one voice, have given the details of this event with following conclusions:

▪ The
seriousness of the occasion demanded absolute purity, physical as well as
spiritual, to take part in the fateful event.

▪ Only
the best of Allah's creations [Ahlul Bayt] were selected by the Holy Prophet
under Allah's guidance.

▪ It,
beyond all doubts, established the purity, the truthfulness, and the sublime
position of the Ahlul Bayt.

▪ It
also unquestionably confirmed as to who were the members of the family of the
Holy Prophet.[6]

Sixty chiefs and `Ulama of
Najran, headed by Sayyid, Aqib, and Usquf (religious personalities) of the
region in the 10th year A.H. came to Medina to clarify their religious and
political stance vis-a-vis Islam which had spread over the Arab peninsula and to
engage in discussions with the Holy Prophet of Islam(S.A.W.) to realize the
essence and truth of Islam.

After lengthy discussions which
have been presented in details in Ibn Husham's "Sirah" 573/1, no agreement was
reached on the position and standing of Jesus. The Christians of Najran believed
in the divinity of Jesus and considered him as the son of God. This is while,
based on the explicit wording of the Holy Qur'an (3:59), the Holy Prophet of
Islam(S.A.W.) considered him as a prophet and the servant of God. At the end of
the discussions, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) suggested that the two sides engage
in "mubahalah", in other words, to invoke divine malediction for the lying side.
The following verse was descended in this regard:

"But whoever disputes with
you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge, then say: come
let us call our sons and your sons and our women and your women and our near
people and your near people, then let us be earnest in prayer, and pray for
the curse of Allah on the liars."

(3:61)

This verse refers to the famous
event of ' Mubahila ' which took place in the year 10 A.H against the Christians
of Najran. A deputation of 60 Christians of Najran headed by Abdul Masih their
chief monkpriest came and discussed with the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) the
personality of Hazrat Eesa (A.S.). The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) told them not to
deify Jesus for he was only a mortal created by God, and not God Himself. Then
they asked who the father of Jesus was. By this, they thought that since he was
born without a father the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) would helplessly accept Jesus'
father being God himself. In reply to this question was revealed the Verse

Verily, similitude of Jesus
with God is as the similitude of Adam; He created him out of dust then said He
unto him BE, and he became.

When the Christians did not
agree to this line of reasoning, then this verse was revealed enjoining upon the
Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) to call the Christians to Mubahila. To this the Christians
agreed and they wanted to return to their place and would have the Mubahila the
next day.

Early next morning the Holy
Prophet (S.A.W.) sent Salman al Farsi (May Allah be well pleased with him) to
the open place, fixed outside the city for the historic event, to erect a small
shelter for himself and those he intended to take along with him for the
contest. On the opposite side appeared the Christian priests, while at the
appointed hour the Christians witnessed the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) entering the
field with Imam Hussain (A.S.) in his lap, Imam Hasan (A.S.) holding his finger,
and walking beside him, Lady Fatima (A.S.) and followed by Imam Ali al Murtaza
(A.S.). The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) on reaching the appointed spot stationed
himself with his daughter, her two sons and her husband, raising his hands
towards the heaven said :

Lord these are the People of my
House

The Chief Monk on knowing that
the baby in the lap of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) was his young grandson, Imam
Hussain (A.S.), the child walking holding the Prophet's (S.A.W.) hand was his
first grandson, Imam Hasan (A.S.), the Lady behind him was daughter, his only
surviving issue was Fatima (A.S.) the mother of the two children and the one who
followed the Lady was his son in law, the husband of Fatima (A.S.), addressed
the huge crowd of the people who had gathered on the spot, and addressed them
saying

By God, I see the faces which,
if they pray to God for mountains to move from their places, the mountains will
immediately move !

O believers in the Jesus of
Nazareth, I will tell you the truth that should ye fail to enter into some
agreement with Muhammad (S.A.W.) and if these souls whom Muhammad (S.A.W.) has
brought with him, curse you, ye will be wiped out of existence to the last day
of the life of the earth!

The people readily agreed to
the advice counseled by their Leader. They beseeched the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)
to give up the idea of the agreed Mubahila and requested for themselves to be
allowed to continue their faith, offering to pay 'Jizya'.

Al Tabari, Commentary of the
Quran, v 2 p 192 - 193

The Christians were to annually
offer twelve thousand exquisite clothes, a thousand mithqal of gold, and some
other items to remain Christians under the umbrella of Islam.

On the basis of the "mubahalah
verse", Sunni interpreters such as Zamakhshari, Baydawi, Imam Fakhr Razi and
others regard `Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn (A.S.) superior to all other
people and argue that Hassan and Husayn are the sons of the Messenger (S.A.W.)
of Allah.

The term "anfusina" in the "mubahalah
verse" proves the unity of the heart and soul of Prophet Muhammad and `Ali. The
Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) stated: "`Ali is of me and I am of `Ali." ("Fadail al-Khamsah"
343/1). The "mubahalah tradition" has been recounted in different books of "sirah"
and history with various wordings. These include those of Tirmidhi ("Sahih"
166/2) which quotes S`ad ibn Abi Waqqas as follows: "When the mubahalah verse
was recited, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) summoned `Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn
and said: `O Allah, these are the Members of my Household." This tradition has
been narrated by Hakim Nishaburi in "Al-Mustadrak" 150/3 and Bayhaqi in "Sunan"
63/7. Hakim regards this tradition as authentic.

The Verse of Malediction (mubahilah):
"But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come to you of
knowledge, then, say, 'Come, let us call our sons and your sons, and our women
and your women, and ourselves and yourselves, and let us beseech Allah and
invoke His curse upon the liars'." This milestone event in Islamic history has
been narrated by all the historians, narrators, and commentators of the Qur'an
and is an event which reveals the exalted status of the Family of the Holy
Prophet (S.A.W.).

The narrations say that a
delegation of Christians from Najran came to the city of Madinah in order to
meet with the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) to discuss his prophethood and the new
religion he was bringing. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) proved to them that Jesus
(A.S.) was the son of Mary - a human being, a prophet, and a servant of Allah,
as the Qur'an states - and that regarding him as the son of God is blasphemy
since Allah, the Exalted, is high above such human characteristics.
After discussing these points fully and convincingly, when the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)
found them still deliberately persisting in their false beliefs and traditions -
namely, the deification of Prophet Jesus (A.S.) - Allah revealed this verse
which was a major challenge to the Christians to pray and invoke Allah that a
curse may overtake the party that insists on falsehood. Early the next morning,
on the 24th of the lunar month of Dhul Hijjah, in accordance with Allah's
command, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) arrived at the meeting holding Husayn in his
arms and leading Hasan by his hand, followed by his beloved daughter Lady
Fatima, behind whom came his son-in-law and cousin 'Ali ibn Abi Talib carrying
the banner of Islam. Seeing that the Prophet (S.A.W.) was accompanied only by
his immediate family, the Christians were convinced that he was truthful;
otherwise, he would never have dared to bring his dearest kin along. The
Christian delegation backed away from the maledictory confrontation and agreed
to retreat back to Najran.

Although other women were
present in the family the Prophet (S.A.W.) at that time, all the commentators,
narrators, and historians agree that, in this Qur'anic verse, "our women" refers
only to Lady Fatima al-Zahra' (A.S.), "our children" refers only to Hasan and
Husayn (A.S.), and "ourselves" refers only to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) and Imam
'Ali (A.S.).

Zamakhshari, in his Tafsir al-Kashshaf,
narrates the event in this way:

When this verse was revealed,
the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) asked the Christians to the malediction to invoke the
curse of Allah upon the liars. The Christians held a discourse among themselves
that night in which their leader, 'Abd al-Masih, states his views as follows. He
said: "O Christians, know that Muhammad(S.A.W.) is a God-sent prophet who has
brought you the final message from your Lord. By God, no nation ever dared to
challenge a prophet with malediction but that woe befell them. Not only would
they perish, but their children would also be afflicted with the curse." Saying
this - that it is better to reach a compromise with the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)
rather than challenge his truth and perish - 'Abd al-Masih advised his party to
stop hostilities and retain their religion by submitting to the Prophet's terms.
"So if you persist (for a confrontation) we will all perish. But if you, to keep
your faith, refuse (to have a showdown) and remain as you are, then make peace
with the man (the Holy Prophet) and return to your land."

The next day, the Holy Prophet
(S.A.W.), carrying Husayn in his arms, leading Hasan by the hand, followed by
his daughter Lady Fatima, behind whom came 'Ali, entered the appointed place and
was heard saying to his family: "When I invoke Allah, second this invocation."
The Pontiff of Najran, upon seeing the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) and his family,
addressed the Christians: "O Christians! I am beholding such faces that if God
wishes, for their sake, He would move mountains for them. Do not accept their
challenge for malediction, for if you do, you would all perish, and there would
remain no Christians on the face of the earth till the Day of Resurrection."
Heeding his advice, the Christians said to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.):

"O Abul-Qasim, we have decided
not to hold malediction with you. You keep your religion, and we will keep
ours." The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) told them: "If you refuse to hold malediction,
then submit to Allah, and you will receive what the Muslims receive and
contribute what the Muslims contribute." The Christians delegates, saying that
they had no desire to fight the Muslims, proposed a treaty asking for peace. The
Prophet of Islam (S.A.W.) accepted.

This historic event of a unique
triumph of Islam is a religious thanksgiving festival of the triumph against
falsehood. Some of the significance of this event are as follows :

this event un-questionably establishes the
truth about the spiritual purity of the Ahl al Bayt (A.S.)

it proves beyond any doubt as to who are the
members of the house of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)

the seriousness and the solemnity of the
occasion demands absolute purity, spiritual as well as physical in the
individuals to serve in the fateful occasion for the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)
to present them to God as the best one of His creation to be heard in the
prayers of Truth !

But whoever disputes with you in this after what
has come to you of knowledge, then sat:

"Come let us call our sons and your sons and
our women and your women and our selves and your selves, then let us pray
earnestly and bring about the curse of Allah on the liars" (61). Most surely
this is the true story, and there is no god but Allah,' and most surely
Allah is the Mighty, the Wise (62). But if they turn back then surely Allah
knows the mischief makers (63).[Surah Ale Imran verses 61-63]

* * * * *

COMMENTARY

Qur'an: But whoever disputes with you in
this after what has come to you of knowledge: "Fa" (translated here as "But")
shows that the offer of al-mubahalah (means earnest imprecation) branches out
from the Divine teaching explained above so clearly and convincingly about 'Isa
son of Maryam (a), and ended so emphatically with the words, The truth is from
your Lord, so be not of the doubters (60). "in this": The pronoun "this" refers
either to 'Isa or to the "truth" mentioned in the preceding verse. The preceding
verses were Divine Revelation in which there could be no doubt at all. Apart
from that, they contained a clear logical proof, that is, the verse: Surely the
likeness of 'Isa is with Allah as the likeness of Adam. ..(59). Thus, the
knowledge emanating from these verses is two-fold: one, because it is a Divine
Speech: two, because of its rational proof. That is why this knowledge was not
reserved for the Prophet only; others too could understand it. Even if someone
did not believe it to be a Divine Revelation, he could not entertain any doubt
about the truth of the subject discussed, because it contained rational argument
which unbiased mind was bound to accept. Perhaps that is why Allah said: "after
what has come to you of knowledge" and did not say, after what We have explained
to them.

Another point: By reminding the Prophet of
the Divine Knowledge, Allah wanted to assure him that he would overwhelm his
adversaries by Allah's permission and that Allah would surely be on his side
supporting him in that dispute.

Qur'an: then say: "Come, let us call our
sons and your sons and our women and your women and our selves and your selves:
The first person plural pronoun in "let us call" has a different import from the
plural pronouns in "our sons" "our women" and "our selves”. The former refers to
the both parties of the argument, that is, the advocates of Islam and those of
Christianity; while the latter refer to the side of Islam only. Accordingly, the
meaning would be as follows: Let us both call the sons, the women and the
'selves' ; -we should call our sons, our women and our 'selves', and you should
call your sons, your women and your 'selves'. The verse thus has shortened a
long sentence in a meaningful and pleasant way.

Al-Mubahalah and al-mula'anah both have the
same meaning: to curse each other. The actual parties of the argument were
the Messenger of Allah on one side, and the Christians men on the other. But in
the challenge for the imprecation, the call was extended to the sons and women,
as it would show more convincingly that the claimant is perfectly sure of the
truth of his claim, that he is absolutely right. Allah has put in man the love
of his children and family, to such an extent that he puts himself in jeopardy
to save them, plunges into perilous situations to keep them safe. And precisely
for this reason, sons have been mentioned before women, because man loves his
sons more than his women.

An exegete has said: "The verse means, let
us call your sons, your women and your selves; and let you call our sons, our
women and our selves." But the explanation given by us above shows how absurd
this meaning is. This meaning does not leave any justification for including the
sons and the women in the earnest imprecation.

The detailed description of the invitees is a
further proof that the caller (i.e., the Prophet) has absolute confidence in the
truth of his claim. The import of the call is as follows: Let my whole group and
your whole group enter into earnest imprecation, so that both groups pray
earnestly to Allah and bring about the curse of Allah on the liars. In this way,
the Divine curse and chastisement shall cover the sons, women and selves of the
liars, and the enemies of truth shall be annihilated completely, they shall be
rooted out without leaving any trace.

Consequently, the truth of this speech does not
depend on numerousness of the sons, the women or the 'selves'. The main brunt of
the challenge is that one party -that which is on wrong -should perish together
with all its near and dear ones -male and female, old and young. The exegetes
unanimously say -and traditions and history support them -that when the
Messenger of Allah (s) came out for the imprecation, the only persons whom he
brought with him were: 'Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn (peace be on them
all). Therefore, the only participants, on the side of Islam, were two 'selves',
two sons and one woman -and yet the Prophet did fully comply with the Divine
Command.

Moreover, the meaning of a word in a verse is one
thing, and it is quite another matter as for whom, or on how many people, could
that word be applied in practice. We find numerous examples in the Qur'an where
an order, a promise or a threat has been mentioned using plural words, but the
circumstances of its revelation show that it was revealed for one person only.
For example: (As for) those of you who put away their wives by likening their
backs to the backs of their mothers, they are not their mothers (58: 2) ; And
(as for) those who put away their wives by likening their backs to the backs of
their mothers then would recall what they said. ..(58: 3) ; Allah has certainly
heard the saying of those who said: "Surely Allah is poor and we are rich"
(3:181); And they ask you as to what they should spend. Say: "Whatever can be
spared" (2:219). There are a lot of verses which were revealed with plural
words, although the events for which they were revealed concerned one person
only.

QUR'AN: "then let us pray earnestly and
bring about the curse of Allah on the liars": "al-Ibtihal" is derived from al-bahlah
also pronounced al-buhlah (curse). This is its basic meaning; then it was
commonly used for earnest prayer.

The words, "and bring about the curse of Allah",
are a sort of explanation for the preceding verb, "then let us pray earnestly."
The verse said, "and bring about the curse of Allah"; it did not say, and ask
from Allah to curse. It was an indication that that prayer would surely be
granted because at that juncture it was the only way to distinguish the truth
from the falsehood.

The word, "the liars", does not refer to all the
liars found anywhere in the world, nor does it mean the genes of the liars. It
refers to a particular group -that party of the argument (between the Prophet
and the Christians) which was wrong in its claim. The Prophet was saying that
Allah is One, there is no god besides Him, and that 'Isa was His servant and
messenger; while the Christians said that 'Isa was God, and son of God, and that
God had three persons.

This observation leads us to another reality. All
those who came out for the proposed imprecation were equal partners in their
respective claim. Had the claim and the resulting imprecation been between the
Prophet only and the Christians, one party (i.e., the Prophet) would demand
singular words, and the other, plural. In such cases, it is necessary to use an
expression which would cover singular and plural both. For example, the sentence
under discussion could have been written like this: and bring about the curse of
Allah on whosoever is lying. But it says: "... on the liars." It proves that
indeed there were liars (in plural) in one party of the argument, either on the
side of the Prophet or on the Christians' side. Consequently, all those who came
out for the imprecation would be partners in the claim -because lie presupposes
a claim. Therefore, those who were present on the side of .the Prophet for the
imprecation -i.e., 'Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn -were partners in the
claim of the Messenger of Allah (s) and his Mission. 1t is one of the most
excellent virtues which were given exclusively to these family-members of the
Prophet (peace be on them all). Another exclusive excellence: Allah gave them
the names of 'selves', women and sons of the Prophet to the exclusion of all the
men, women and children of the ummah.

Question: You have mentioned above that the
Qur'an uses, more often than not, plural words for singular; and even this verse
says "our women" while it was only one lady, i.e. , Fatimah (a), who
participated in the imprecation. Then why should the plural, "the liars", be not
explained in the same way?

Reply: There is a vast difference between
the two. There is a situation which may happen again and again, and there is
another which is not expected to repeat itself. In the former situation, it is
perfectly all right to use a plural in place of a singular, so that the rule or
comment would cover even those who would be doing the same thing in future. But
in the latter situation it is not allowed to use plural in place of singular,
because the event is not to repeat itself and no one else is expected to be
included in that order or comment, etc. Look for example at the following
verses:-

And when you said to him to whom Allah had
shown favour and to whom you had shown favour: Keep your wife to yourself
and fear Allah.(33 :37).

The tongue of him whom they are inclined to
blame (for it) is barbarous and this is clear Arabic tongue(16:
103)

O Prophet! surely We have made lawful to you
your wives whom you have given their dowries, ...and a believing woman if
she gave hereself to the Prophet. if the Prophet desired to marry her
-specially for you, not for the (rest of) believers; ...(33:
50)

And the order for calling to the: imprecation
could not be extended beyond that particular situation, that is, the imprecation
between the Prophet and the Christians. Therefore, when Allah uses a plural,
there should be more than two in both parties which were called; otherwise, the
use of the plural "the liars" would be out of place.

Question: All the Christians w ho had come
in the delegation of the Najran were a party to a claim -the claim that 'Isa was
God, and the son of God, and one of the three persons of God. There was no
discord among them in this matter, nor was there any difference in this claim
between their men and women. Like- wise, the claim on the side of the Prophet
-that Allah is One, there is no god but He; and 'Isa, the son of Maryam (a) was
His servant and His messenger -was upheld by all the believers; it was not
confined to anyone of them -not even the Prophet. Therefore, it is out of place
to say that those who were brought by the Prophet for the imprecation had any
superiority or excellence over the rest of the believers.

In fact, the Prophet had brought them just as
examples of the sons, women and selves mentioned in the verse.

Moreover, claim and mission are two different
things. Those who participated in the imprecation were party to the claim. How
is it that you have made them partners in the Mission too?

Reply: Had the Prophet brought them just as
samples, it was necessary for him to bring at least two other men, three women
and three sons -to comply with the demand of the plurals. Yet, he did not do so.
It proves that only those who came with him were worthy of being called his
sons, his women and his selves -to the exclusion of all the others. Only on
accepting this fact, we can say that he obeyed the Divine Order given in this
verse. In other words, he could not find anyone worthy of being included in
these categories, except the one man, one woman and two sons whom he brought
with him. There was no one else whom he could include in compliance with the
plural words of the verse. In these circumstances, he fully complied with the
order, although he could not bring three persons in any category.

Moreover, if you ponder on the events, you will
see that the only aim of the Christians of Najran in coming to Medina was to
confront the Messenger of Allah (s) and to argue with him" about 'Isa, the son
of Maryam (a). It was the Messenger of Allah who was claiming that 'Isa was a
servant of Allah and His messenger. It was he who called others to believe in
this claim, saying that it was based on Divine Revelation -the revelation which,
he said, was sent to him. As for the rest of the believers, the Christians had
nothing to do with them; nor did they argue with them. That is why Allah has
used singular verbs and pronouns in the beginning of this verse, when referring
to the Prophet: "But whoever disputes with you (literally: thee) in this after
what has come to you (lit.: thee) of knowledge, then say (lit.: say thou)..."
The same is the case of the verse: But if they dispute with you (lit.: thee),
say (lit.: say thou): "I have submitted myself (entirely) to Allah and (so has)
every one who follows me" (3: 20).

The above explanation shows that the Messenger of
Allah (blessings of Allah be on him and his progeny) had not brought those
personalities as samples or examples of other believers - because the believers,
per se, had no part in that disputation or imprecation; and there was no reason
why they should be offered as targets for the curse and punishment which were to
come to one of the two parties (the Christians and their adversary, i.e., the
Prophet). The Prophet himself was a party of that argument and it was his
obligation to offer himself as the target of the calamity which could come to
him in case his claim was (God forbid!) wrong. Now, there was no reason why he
should bring 'Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn (a) with him, if his claim
were not dependent on them also, as it was on his own self.

He had come with them for imprecation because they
were the only sons, woman and self on whom his claim depended. Surely he had not
brought them as samples or examples. It is now crystal clear that these
personalities were his partners in his claim; the claim depended on them as it
did on him.
Furthermore, the Christians had come to argue with the Prophet not just because
he believed that 'Isa son of Maryam (a) was the servant and messenger of Allah.
They had taken upon themselves to come upto Medina because, in addition to
claiming those things about 'Isa, he had called and invited them to believe
likewise. This call, this mission, was the main reason why they had come in
delegation for argument. Consequently, when the Prophet came to the appointed
place of imprecation, bringing with him the four personalities, it was because
of that claim and that call together. Thus these personalities were his partners
in his mission, as they had been his partners in his claim.

Question: We accept that the Prophet came
with them because they were a part of him; and this attribute was not found in
others, it was their exclusive excellence. But it appears -and normal practice
confirms it -that when a man brings his near and dear ones, his women and
children, in dangerous and frightening places, it shows that he is fully
confident of his and their safety and comfort. His bringing them for imprecation
proves only that he was absolutely sure of his truth -it does not show anything
else. It is quite irrelevant to say that his action proves that they were his
partners in the mission.

Reply: It is true that the beginning of the
verse does not show more than that which has been mentioned above. But the end
of the verse, that is, "on the liars", shows that there were surely liars (in
plural) in one of the two sides of the argument and imprecation. Such expression
could only be used if there were several people in each group, all making some
claim -be it true or false. Therefore, those who were brought there by the
Prophet were indeed his partners, both in the claim and in the mission, as was
explained above. It is thus proved that those who were present there with the
Prophet -all of them were parties to the claim and the mission, together with
the Prophet, and were his partners in it.

Question: It follows, from what you have
said that they were his partners in the prophethood.

Reply: Not at all. We have explained
earlier where we have discussed "Prophethood"[l] that the Call and Propagation
are not one and the same with the prophethood, although they are among its
conditions and concomitants, and are parts of the divinely-bestowed
responsibilities which a prophet takes upon himself. Likewise, we have made it
clear in the discourse about the Imamah [2] that they are not identical with
Imamah either, although they are in a way among its concomitants.
Qur'an: Most surely this is the true story, and there is no god but Allah: The
demonstrative pronoun "this" refers to the earlier mentioned stories of 'Isa
(a). There is a fine literary transposition in the sentence. What it says is as
follows: Most surely the stories We have told you concerning 'Isa are the truth
-not that which is told by the Christians.

"There is multiple emphasis in this sentence: Inna
(surely) and la (surely) followed by an additional pronoun huwa (this) are all
combined together to put utmost emphasis on this statement. It was done to cheer
the Prophet and to encourage him and strengthen his heart for the coming
imprecation, by augmenting his certainty and insight, and fortifying his
confidence in the revelation which Allah had sent to him. It is further
strengthened by additional emphasis contained in the next sentence which
describes an accompanying reality: "and there is no god but Allah". This fact
once again shows that the preceding stories are truth.

Qur'an: and most surely Allah is the
Mighty, the Wise: The conjunctive "and" joins it to the first sentence of the
verse.
The same modes of emphasis have again been used here. It aims at further
comforting the Prophet and strengthening his heart. It says that Allah is
Mighty: He has power to help the side of the truth. And He is Wise: He cannot
neglect or forget this aid, because ignorance or oblivion cannot reach Him. He
is not like those false deities whom the enemies of the truth have taken for
themselves besides Him.

This explanation shows why these two Divine Names
were chosen for concluding this verse. The sentence contains an exclusiveness:
Only Allah is the Mighty and the Wise.

Qur'an: But if they turn back then surely
Allah knows the mischief makers: What should be the actual aim of any argument
or imprecation? The manifestation of the truth. If so, then it is unthinkable
for a seeker of truth to turn back from it. If the Christians really wanted the
truth to be manifested -and they knew that Allah was the Guardian of truth and
that He would never allow it to be destroyed or invalidated -they would not turn
back from the proposed imprecation. And if they did, it would show that their
aim by all this argumentation and disputation was not the manifestation of
truth; they only wanted apparent victory, preservation of the status they had
and beliefs they followed, and continuation of the customs and traditions with
which they were familiar. Their only goal was that which their desire, lust and
greed had made to seem fair to them - and it was not the good life which
conforms with truth and happiness; it was but a semblance of life. In other
words, they did not want reform and improvement; they wanted to make mischief in
the world by corrupting the good life. Their turning back would mean that they
were mischief-makers.

The sentence uses a metaphorical device of putting
the cause in place of the effect; it mentions their mischief-making instead of
saying that they do not want the truth to be manifested.

The second part of the sentence refers to the
Divine Attribute of knowledge, and it has been emphasized with addition of inna
(surely), as it says: "then surely Allah knows". It was to show that
mischief-making and thwarting the manifestation of truth was ingrained in their
psyche, and Allah knows that as a result of that deep rooted trait they will
surely turn back from the imprecation. And so they did and by doing so proved
the truth of the Divine Words.

TRADITIONS

as-Sadiq (a) said: "When the Christians of Najran
came to the Messenger of Allah (s) as a delegation -and their leaders were al-Ahtam,
al-'Aqib, and as-Sayyid -and (the time of) their prayer came, they began to ring
hand-bells and prayed. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah said: 'O
Messenger of Allah! This in your Mosque? ' He said: ' Let them be!' When they
finished (their prayer) they came near the Messenger of Allah and said: 'To what
do you call (us)? ' He said: 'To bearing the witness that there is no god except
Allah, and that I am the Messenger of Allah, and that 'Isa was a servant created
(by Allah) , he used to eat, drink and relieve himself.' They said: 'Then who
was his father? , Thereupon came the revelation to the Messenger of Allah
saying: 'Say to them, "What do you say about Adam? Was he a servant created (by
Allah) who used to eat, drink, relieve himself and cohabit?" , The Prophet put
this question to them and they replied: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then who was his
father? ' and they became speechless. Then Allah sent down (the verse) : Surely
the likeness of 'Isa is with Allah as the likeness of Adam; He created him from
dust. ..; and the verse: But whoever disputes with you in this after what has
come to you of knowledge. ..and bring about the curse of Allah on the liars.

"Then the Messenger of Allah said: '(If you
do not agree with what I say) then enter into earnest imprecation with me; thus
if I am truthful the curse will be sent down on you and if I am a liar it will
be sent down on me.' The said: 'You have done justice.'

"So they made an appointment for the imprecation.
When they returned to the place they were staying, their leaders as-Sayyid, al-'Aqib
and al-Ahtam, said: 'If he comes for the imprecation against us with his nation
(i.e., people unrelated to him), we shall enter into imprecation against him,
because then he is not a prophet. But if he enters into imprecation against us
with only the people of his House, we shall not enter into imprecation against
him, because he will not put the People of his House forward unless he is
truthful.'

"When the morning came, they came to the Messenger
of Allah (s) -and there were with him the Leader of the Faithful ('Ali), Fatimah,
al-Hasan and al-Husayn (a). The Christians said: 'Who are these? ' They were
told: 'This is his cousin, al-waisy (executor of will) and son-in-law, and this
is his daughter Fatimah, and these are his sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn.' So they
were frightened and said to the Messenger of Allah: 'We shall pay you whatever
you are pleased with, but excuse us from the imprecation.' Thereupon the
Messenger of Allah (s) made agreement with them on (the condition of) al-jizyah
(tax); and they went away."

(at- Tafsir, al-Qummi)

Ar-Rayyan ibn as-Salt narrates a talk of ar-Rida
(a) with al-Ma 'mun and the scholars about the difference between the Prophet's
progeny and the rest of the ummah and the former's superiority over the latter,
in which he, inter alia, says: "The scholars said: 'Has Allah explained (this)
selection in His Book?, ar-Rida (a) said: 'He has explained the selection
manifestly in twelve places -apart from the hidden (references).' Then he
described those places of the Qur'an, during which he said: 'As for the third
(verse, it was) when Allah distinguished His purified creatures and ordered His
Prophet to earnestly pray with them for His curse on the liars, in the verse of
imprecation. So Allah, the Mighty, the Great, said: But whoever disputes with
you in this after what has come to you of knowledge, then say: "Come let us call
our sons and your sons and our women and your women and our selves and your
selves", The scholars said: 'our selves means the Prophet himself.' Abu'1-Hasan
(ar-Rida) said: 'You are mistaken. He only meant 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. And one of
the proofs to show it is the saying of the Prophet (himself): "Banu Wali'ah
should give up (their mischief) ; otherwise, I will surely send to them a man
like my own self" -referring to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib.

And He meant al-Hasan and al-Husayn with "sons",
and meant Fatimah with "women". So this is an exclusive virtue in which no one
can precede them, and an excellence in which no man can reach them, and an
honour in which no creature can overtake them, because He made 'Ali's person
like his (Prophet's) own self (person) ...' " ('Uyunu ' l-akhbar)

As-Saduq narrates through his chain from al-Imam
Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be on both of them), that he had a talk with (Harun) ar-Rashid,
during which ar-Rashid said to him: "How is it that you say, 'We are the
offspring of the Prophet', while the Prophet did not leave any offspring? And
progeny is through male, not through female; and you are the children of the
daughter and her child is not (her father's) progeny." The Imam said: "I said to
him: 'I ask you by the right of kinship and that of the grave (i.e., of the
Prophet) and of him who is therein, that you should excuse me from (replying to)
this question.' He said: 'You shall tell me of your proof for it, O son of 'Ali,
and you, O Musa! are their leader and their present Imam -thus I have been
informed -and I am not going to excuse you from any question I put to you until
you bring me a proof from the Book of Allah; because you claim, O children of
'Ali! that nothing of it (the Book) comes out from you -not even an alif or a
waw -but you know its interpretation; and you advance the word of Allah, the
Mighty, the Great, as your proof; We have not neglected anything in the Book [6:
38], and you are not in need of the opinion of scholars and their analogy "

"Then I said: 'Do you permit me to reply? ' He
said: 'Let me have.' I said (reciting the Qur'anic verse) : 'I seek refuge of
Allah from the cursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
., .and of his (Ibrahim's) offspring, Dawud and Sulayman and Ayyub and Yusuf and
Musd and Harun; and thus do We reward those who do good; and Zakariyya and Yahya
and 'Isa and Ilyas; everyone was of the good ones (6: 84- 5). Who was the father
of 'Isa? O Leader of the Faithful!' He said: 'He had no father.' Then I said:
'Yet He (Allah) has joined him with the progenies of the Prophets through Maryam;
and in the same way Allah, the High, has joined us with the progenies of the
Prophet through our mother, Fatimah.' (Then I said): 'Should I tell you more? O
Leader of the Faithful!' he said: 'Let me have.' I said: '(It is) the word of
Allah, the Mighty, the Great: But whoever disputes with you in this after what
has come to you of knowledge, then say: "Come let us call our sons and your sons
and our women and your women and our selves and your selves, then let us pray
earnestly and bring about the curse of Allah on the liars. " And nobody has ever
claimed that the Prophet -on the occasion of the imprecation with the Christians
-made anyone enter under the drape except 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, Fatimah, al-Hasan
and al-Husayn. So (this) was the interpretation of His Word: "our sons" meant
al-Hasan and al-Husayn; and "our women", Fatimah; and "ourselves", 'Ali ibn Abi
Talib.' " (ibid. )

al-Ma'mun had asked ar-Rida (a) several questions,
one of which was as follows:

The author says: The Imam argued on the
strength of the word, Ourselves. He meant that Allah had made 'Ali (a) like the
person of the Prophet. (And who could have more right to succeed the Prophet
than his own person?). al-Ma'mun said: "If there were not our women." He wanted
to say that the reference to "women" indicates that the word "our selves" means
"our men", and as such it would not show any excellence. The Imam replied: "If
there were not our sons." That is, if "our selves" -referred to the men, then
why should the sons be mentioned separately? They would have been included in
"our men".

Hariz narrates from Abu 'Abdillah (a) that he
said: "The Leader of the Faithful, 'Ali, (a) was asked about his excellent
virtues. He mentioned some of them. Then they said to him: 'Tell us (some)
more.' So he said: 'Verily two Bishops of the Christians of Najran came to the
Messenger of Allah, and talked (with him) on the subject of 'Isa (a). Thereupon
Allah revealed the verse: Surely the likeness of 'Isa is with Allah as the
likeness of Adam. .. Then the Messenger of Allah entered (the house), and held
the hands of 'Ali, al-Hasan, al-Husayn and Fatimah; then he came out, and raised
his palms to the heaven and separated his fingers one from another; and called
them (the Christians) to the imprecation.' " (Abu 'Abdillah, (a) then said: "
And Abu Ja'far (a) has said: 'And that is the way of imprecation; one
intertwines his hand in one's (adversary's) hand raising them to the heaven.'"
Thereupon when the two Bishops saw him, one of them said to his companion: "By
God! If he is a prophet, we shall surely perish; and if he is not a prophet his
(own) people would save us (from the trouble of confronting him) ." So they gave
up (the imprecation) and went back.' "

(al-'Ayyashi)

The author says: This or nearly the same
meaning has been narrated in other traditions through the Shi'i chains. All of
them unanimously say that those who were brought by the Prophet for the
imprecation were 'Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn only.

Ash-Shaykh at-Tusi has narrated it in his al-Amali,
through his chains from 'Amir ibn Sa'd from his father; and also through his
chains from 'Abdu 'r-Rahman ibn Kathir from a-adiq (a); and also through his
chains from Salim ibn Abi 'l-Ja'd, raising it to Abu Dharr; and also through his
chains from Rabi'ah ibn Najid from 'Ali (a).

Al-Mufid has narrated it in his al-Ikhtia, through
his chains from Muhammad ibn az-Zibriqan from Musa ibn Ja'far (a); and also from
Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir from his father from his grandfather.

Al-'Ayyashi has narrated it in his at- Tafsir from
Muhammad ibn Sa'id al-Urdunni from Musa ibn Muhammad ibn ar-Rida (a) from his
brother; and also from Abu Ja'far al-Ahwal from as-Sadiq (a); and also from al-Mundhir
from 'Ali (a); and also through his chains from 'Amir ibn Sa'd.

Al-Furat has narrated it in his at-Tafsir several
traditions to this effect, which separately reach to Abu Ja'far (a), Abu Rafi',
ash-Sha'bi, 'Ali (a), and Shahr ibn Hawshab and several other traditions to the
same effect have been narrated in Rawdatu 'l-wa'z,in, I'llimu 'I'lamu 'l-wara,
al-Khara'ij and other books.

It has been narrated in at-Tafsir of ath-Tha'labi
[3] from Mujahid and al-Kalbi: "When the Prophet called the Christians for the
imprecation, they said: 'Let us return and think over it.' When they were alone,
they asked al-'Aqib -and he was a man of good judgment among them: 'O 'Abdu 'l-Masih!
What is your opinion? , He said: ' By Allah! You are well-aware, O ye
Christians! that Muhammad is a prophet, sent by Allah, and that he has brought
to you the decisive word about your Companion ('Isa). By Allah! Whenever a
nation has entered into imprecation with a prophet, their elders have perished
and their youngsters have died. And if you do it, we shall surely perish; but,
if you turn down, for the love of your religion and (want) to remain on what you
have at present, then make peace with the man and go back to your towns.

"So they came to the Messenger of Allah; and he
had come out in the morning carrying al-Husayn in his lap, holding the hand of
al-Hasan, with Fatimah walking behind him and 'Ali was behind her; and he was
saying: 'When I pray, you say "Amen" '. Then the Bishop of Najran said: 'O ye
Christians! Surely I see the faces that if they ask Allah to remove a mountain
from its place, He would surely remove it. Therefore, do not do imprecation,
otherwise you will perish, and there will not remain any Christian on the face
of the earth, upto the Day of Resurrection.

"Then they said: 'O Abu'l-Qasim! We have decided
that we should not enter into imprecation against you; and that we leave you on
your religion and we remain on our religion.' He said: 'Well, if you refuse
imprecation, then accept Islam -you will have (the rights) which (other) Muslims
have, and on you shall be (the duties) which are on them.' But they refused. So
(the Prophet) said: 'Then I shall fight you.' They said: 'We do not have
strength to fight against the Arabs. But we shall make peace with you that you
will not fight against us or frighten us; nor will you turn us away from our
religion, on the condition that we shall pay to you every year two thousand
robes -one thousand in Safar and one thousand in Rajab and thirty coats of mail,
(of) common (quality), made of iron.' So the Prophet made agreement with them on
these conditions. And he said, 'By Him in Whose hand is my soul! Surely
destruction had almost descended on the people of Najran.' And if they had
entered into imprecation they would have been transformed into monkeys and pigs,
and there would have erupted in the valley a conflagration of fire engulfing
them all; and surely Allah would have annihilated Najran and its inhabitants
-even the birds on tree tops; and the year would not have ended for all the
Christians but they would have perished."

The author says: The event, nearly in similar
words, has also been narrated in Kitabu 'I-Maghdzi from Ibn Ishaq. Also al-Maliki
has narrated it in his al- Fusulu 'l-muhimmah from many exegetes; and al-Hammuyi
has narrated nearly similar tradition from Ibn Jurayh. (To be continued)

The agreement contains the phrase, "one thousand
in Safar;" it means al-Muharram of Islamic calender, which was the first month
of the year in Arabia. In pre-Islamic days it was called "Safar" -the first two
months were called Safar al- Awwal and Safar ath- Thdni. Arabs in the days of
ignorance used to postpone Safar al-Awwal. Then Islam confirmed the sacredness
of the Safar al-Awwal; so it was called, "the sacred (al-Muharam), month of
Allah;" then it became known as al-Muharram.

'Amir son of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqq:as narrates from
his father that he said: "Mu':iwiyah ibn Abi Sufyan ordered Sa'd telling him,
'What prevents you from abusing Abu Tur:ab ('Ali, a.s.)?' He said, 'As for this
matter, as long as I remember three things which the Messenger of Allah (s) has
said (about 'Ali) I will never abuse him; if even one of them were for me, it
would have been dearer to me than red livestocks.' I heard the Messenger of
Allah (s) saying, when he left him ('Ali) as his Deputy (when going) for one of
his battles. 'Ali said to him, 'O Messenger of Allah! Are you leaving me behind
with women and children?' Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (s) said to him:
'Are you not pleased that you should have the same position with me that Harun
had with Musa -except that there is no prophet after me ? ' And I heard him
saying on the day of Khaybar:' Most surely tomorrow I will give the standard (of
army) to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and whom Allah and His
Messenger do love.' (Sa'd) said: 'So we held our heads high (hoping to catch the
eye of the Prophet). But he said: 'Call 'Ali to me.' So he was brought (before
.him), sore-eyed; and (the Prophet) put (his) saliva in his eyes (and he was
cured); and gave the standard to him. And Allah conquered (Khaybar) on his hand.
And when this verse was revealed: ...then say: "Come let us call our sons and
your sons and our women and your women and our selves and your selves, then let
us pray earnestly. ..", the Messenger of Allah called 'Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan
and al-Husayn, and said: O Allah! These are the People of my House.' "(as-Sahih,
Muslim)

The author says: This tradition has been
narrated by at-Tirmidhi in his a-Sa!zi!z, Abu 'I-Mu'ayyad al-Muwaffaq ibn
Al:lmad in his Kitiib Fa{iii'il li, Abu Nu'aym in his /filyatu 'l-awliyt:l ,
(from the same narrator as above), and al-l:Iammuyi in his Fart:l'idu 's-sim!ayn.

Abu Nu'aym narrates through his chains from 'Amir
ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas from his father that he said: "When this verse was
revealed, the Messenger of Allah (s) called 'Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn
and said: 'O Allah! These are the People of my House." (Hilyatu 'l-awliya)

Also he narrates in the same book through his
chains from ash-Sha'bi from Jabir that he said: "al-'Aqib and at-Tayyib came to
the Messenger of Allah (s) and he invited them to Islam. They said: 'We are
(already) Muslims, O Muhammad! He said: 'You tell a lie. If you wish, I would
tell you what prevents you from (accepting) Islam.' They said: 'Then let us
have.' He said: 'The love of the cross, drinking liquor, and eating the flesh of
pig.' Jabir further said: "Then the Prophet invited them to imprecation, and
they promised him to come to him in the morning.

When the morning came, the Messenger of Allah held
the hands of 'Ali, al-Hasan, al-Husayn and Fatimah. Then he sent (someone) to
them. But they refused to accept his call (for imprecation); instead they
acknowledged to him (his sovereignty). Then the Messenger of Allah (s) said: 'By
Him Who has sent me with truth! Had they done (the imprecation) the valley would
have rained fire on them.' "Jabir said: "About them was revealed the verse:
...let us call our sons and your sons. Jabir further said "ourselves refers to
the Messenger of Allah and 'Ali; and our sons to al-Hasan and al-Husayn; and our
women to Fatimah."

The author says: This tradition has been narrated
by Ibn al-Maghazili in his al-Manaqib through his chains from the same ash-Sha'bi
from Jabir; by al-Hammuyi in his Fara 'idu 's-simtayn, through his chains from
the same narrator; by al-Maliki in his al- Fusulu'l-muhimmah from the same; by
Abu Dawud at-Tayalisi from the same; and by as-Suyuti in his ad-Durru 'l-manthur
from al-Hakim (who has said that this tradition is correct), and from Ibn
Marduwayh as well as Abu Nu'aym (in his Dala 'ilu 'l-khayrat)

Abu Nu'aym has narrated in his Dala 'ilu 'l-khayrat
through the chain of al-Kalbi from Abu Salih from Ibn 'Abbas that he said:
"Verily a delegation of the Christians of Najran came to the Messenger of Allah
(s), and there were fourteen persons of their nobles. Among them were as-Sayyid
(and he was the leader) and al-'Aqib, the second in rank and a man of good
judgment among them." {Then he has described the event as given above.) (ad-Durru
'l-manthur)

al-Bayhaqi has narrated in his Dala 'ilu 'n-Nubuwwah
through the chain of Salmah ibn 'Abd Yashu' from his father from his grandfather
that he said: "The Messenger of Allah (s) wrote to the people of Najran, before
the (chapter of) Ta Sin Sulayman [4] was revealed: 'In the name of Allah, the
God of Ibrahim and Ishaq and Ya'qub. From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah to
the Bishop of Najran and the people of Najran. If you accept Islam, then I extol
before you Allah, the God of Ibrahim and Ishaq and Ya'qub. Now after (the praise
of Allah), I call you to the worship of Allah leaving aside the worship of the
servants (of Allah), and I invite you to (come under) the guardianship of Allah
instead of the guardianship of the servants. But if you refuse (it), then (you
should pay) the head-tax; and if you refuse (even this), then I declare war
against you. And peace (be on you).'

When the Bishop read the letter, he was shocked
and extremely terrified. So he sent (someone) to call a man of Najran Shurahbil
ibn Wada'ah by name; and gave him the letter of the Prophet and he read it. Then
the Bishop said to him: 'What is your opinion?' Shurahbil said: 'You surely know
the promise which Allah made to Ibrahim about the prophethood in the progeny of
Isma'il. Therefore, how can one be sure that it is not this very man? I would
not give any opinion regarding the prophethood. If it were an opinion about a
worldly matter, I would have advised you about it and made efforts on your
behalf.' Then the Bishop called the people of Najran one after another, but all
said as Shurahbil had said. Thereupon, they decided to send Shurahbil ibn
Wada'ah, 'Abdullah ibn Shurahbil and Jabbar ibn Fayd, so that they might bring
them the (correct) news of the Messenger of Allah (s)

"So the delegation proceeded until they came to
the Messenger of Allah (s). And he asked them (questions) and they asked him,
and this questioning between him and them continued, until they said to him:
'What do you say about 'Isa son of Maryam?' The Messenger of Allah (s) said:
'Today, I do not have anything about him; therefore you stay (here), in order
that I may tell you tomorrow morning what is to be said about 'Isa.' Then Allah
sent down this verse: Surely the likeness of 'Isa is with Allah as the likeness
of Adam; He created him from dust. ..and bring about the curse of Allah on the
liars.

"But they refused to agree to that (truth). Thus,
when the next morning came after the Messenger of Allah (s) had given them that
information, he proceeded for the imprecation to a place thick with trees that
belonged to him, carrying al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and Fatimah was walking behind
him; and he had many wives those days (but did not take any of them with him).
And Shurahbil said to his two companions: 'Surely, I see a (serious) matter
coming (to us). If this man is a prophet sent (by Allah) and we ventured to
imprecate against him, there would not remain on the face of the earth any hair
or claw of us (i.e., any cattle or bird belonging to us), but it will perish.'
They said to him: 'What is your view?' He said: 'My opinion is that we should
leave the judgment to him, because I see (in him) a man who will never exceed
the proper limits in his decision. They said: 'You may do as you like in this
matter. 'Thereupon, Shurahbil met the Messenger of Allah (s) and said: 'I have
thought (of one thing) better than the imprecation against you.' He said: 'And
what is it?' He said: '(We give you the authority) to decide (between us) this
day upto the night and from the night to the (next) morning. Whatever you will
decide will be binding on us.

"So the Messenger of Allah (s) returned without
doing imprecation, and made agreement with them on the head-tax."

(ad-Durru 'l-manthur)

Ibn Jarir has narrated from' Ilba 'ibn Ahmar al-Yashkuri
that he said: "When the verse was revealed:. ...then say: ' Let us call our sons
and your sons. .." the Messenger of Allah (s) sent (someone) to (call) 'Ali,
Fatimah and their sons, a1-Hasan and al-Husayn; and invited the Jews to enter
into imprecation against them. Then a young Jew said: 'Woe unto you! Are you not
familiar with (the story) of your brothers who were yesterday transformed into
monkeys and pigs? Do not enter into (this) imprecation.' So they desisted (from
it)."

(ibid.)

The author says: This tradition supports
the view that the pronoun "this" in the opening sentence, disputes with you in
this, refers to "truth" in the preceding verse, The truth is from your Lord. In
this way, the order of imprecation- would cover other matters too, besides the
controversy about 'Isa son of Maryam. In that case, it would be another story
[5] after the events which took place with the delegation of Najran as narrated
in numerous traditions which supports each other, and a large portion of which
has been quoted above.

Likewise (Ibn Shahrashub) has narrated this
tradition in al-Manaqib, from a number of narrators and exegetes. as-Suyuti has
done the same in ad-Durru 'l-manthur.

A very strange thing has been written by an
exegete who said:

"The traditions unanimously say that the Prophet
selected 'Ali, Fatimah and their two sons for the imprecation; and they apply
the word our women to Fatimah, and ourselves to 'Ali only. The source of these
traditions are the Shi'ahs, and their motive in this respect is well- known.
They have tried as much as they could to propagate such traditions until it has
spread among a vast number of the Sunnis too.

"But those who forged these traditions did not
succeed in properly fitting their interpretation on the verse. When an Arab
says, our women' he never means his daughter -especially when he has wives too.
Such thing is not known in their language. Even more far-fetched is the claim
that 'our selves' means 'Ali. Moreover, the delegation of Najran -concerning
whom the verse is said to be revealed -had not come to Medina with their women
and children.

"The only thing which the verse shows is that tile
Prophet was ordered to call the People of the Book (who were disputing with him
about 'Isa) to gather all -men, women and children - together; and he was to
gather the believers -men, women and children -together, in order that they
might earnestly pray to Allah to curse the party which was in the wrong
regarding its claim about 'Isa (a).

"Such thing would prove that the Prophet had
strong conviction of the truth of his claim and had utmost confidence in it. And
likewise, the desistence of those who were challenged to imprecation -the
Christians or other People of the Book - would show that they had no confidence
in their own claim and were disputing not for the purpose of ascertaining the
truth; their belief was shaky and they had no clear proofs. How can a believer
in Allah agree to gather such a group -consisting of the truthful ones and the
liars -in one place to fix their attention to Allah asking for His curse, to
pray to remove the liars from His mercy? Can anyone be more daring than such a
person? Can anything be more mocking to the Divine Power and Majesty than this?

"The Prophet and the believers had full confidence
in the truth of what they believed about 'Isa (a). It may be understood from the
words of Allah, after what has come to you of knowledge; because knowledge in
matters of belief means certainty only.

"The words of Allah, let us call our sons and your
sons..., may be interpreted in either of the two ways:

"First: Each group should call the other;
you should call our sons and we should call your sons and likewise about the
other two categories of women and selves.

"Second: Each group should call his family.
We, the Muslims, should call our sons, women and ourselves, and you should do
likewise with your family.

"There is no difficulty in either case in calling
the' selves'. The difficulty arises when this phrase is restricted to one
person, as the Shi'ahs and their followers do."

COMMENT: This is such a non-sense that no
knowledgeable person would ever like to write it in academic books; and perhaps
someone might venture to say that we have wrongly attributed it to such a
renowned man! Yet, we have quoted it in full to show how Iowa man can sink in
misapprehension and jaundiced views because of his bias and prejudice. He goes
on demolishing what he had earlier built, and reconfirms what he had rejected
before, without caring or even knowing what he was doing. Also, we wanted evil
to be known to all, so that they could protect themselves from it.

We may comment on this talk in two ways:-

1. To show that the verse proves utmost excellence
and superiority of 'Ali (a). But it is a subject more appropriate for the books
of theology, and is not so much related to our subject, that is, explanation of
the meanings of the Qur'anic verses.

2. To review what the above exegete has written
about the meaning of the verse of imprecation and concerning the traditions
showing what had happened between the Prophet and the Christians of Najran. This
comes within the purview of exegesis, and we shall deal with it here.

You have already seen what the verse means. Arid
the numerous traditions (which support each other), quoted by us, perfectly fit
the meaning of the verse. If you ponder on what we have written earlier, you
will see where and how his innovated "proof" has gone wrong, and at what points
his blinkered vision has made him stumble. Here are some details:

He says: "The source of these traditions
are the Shi'ahs, and their motive in this respect is well-known. They have tried
as much as they could to propagate such traditions until it has spread among a
vast number of the Sunnis too." This he says after admitting that the traditions
are unanimous! Would that I knew which traditions he speaks about. Does he mean
the above-mentioned traditions which support and strengthen each other, which
the scholars of traditions have unanimously accepted and narrated? They are not
one, two or three; they are countless in number. The traditionalists have quoted
them with one voice; the compilers of traditions have written them in their
books, including Muslim and at- Tirmidhi in their collections of' correct'
traditions; and the historians have confirmed them by describing the events in a
similar way. The exegetes of the Qur'an have unanimously quoted and copied them,
without expressing any doubt or levelling any objection against them -and there
are among them stalwarts of traditions and history, like at-Taban, Abu'l-Fida',
Ibn Kathir and as-Suyuti etc.

And who were those Shi'ahs .who were the source of
this story? Does he mean those companions who narrated it in the first place?
Like Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Jabir ibn 'Abdillah, 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas and others?
Or the disciples of the companions who took this tradition from them and
conveyed it to others? Like Abu -Salih, al-Kalbi, as-Suddi, ash-Sha'bi and
others? Does he want to say that those companions and their disciples became
Shi'ahs -just because they narrated a tradition which he does not like? It is
these companions and disciples, together with other like them -who are the final
links in the chains of the narrators of the Prophet's traditions. Discard them,
and you will be left neither with any tradition nor any biography of the
Prophet. How can a Muslim -nay, even a non- Muslim researcher -aspire to know
the details of the Prophet's message, if he rejects the traditions? How can he
know the teachings and laws brought by the Messenger of Allah? The Qur'an
clearly upholds the authority of the sayings and actions of the Prophet; and
declares that the religion is based on his life. Reject the authority of the
traditions and you have lost the Qur'an as well; there will remain no trace of
the Divine Book, nor will there be any fruit of this revelation.

Or perhaps he thinks that the Shi'ahs have
interpolated and surreptitiously inserted these traditions in the books of
traditions and history? But then the problem, instead of going away, would
rather increase and be more overwhelming: the tradition will lose its authority
and the shari'ah will be nullified.

He says: "They apply the word our women to
Fatimah and our selves to Ali." Probably he wants to say that according to the
Shi'ahs, the words our women and our selves literally mean only Fatimah and 'Ali
respectively. Perhaps he got the idea from an earlier quoted tradition in which
Jabir said: "Ourselves refers to the Messenger of Allah and 'Ali; ...and our
women to Fatimah." But obviously he has not understood its meaning.

The traditions do not say so. They only mean that
because the Prophet when acting on the verse, did not bring (any other person
for imprecation) except 'Ali and Fatimah, it made it clear that she was the only
one worthy of being included in the category our women, as he was the only one
qualified for the category ourselves; and likewise al-Hasan and al-Husayn were
the only two for the category our sons. The words: sons, women and selves taken
together meant the family. Therefore, these four were the family of the
Messenger of Allah and his closest relatives, as we have seen in some traditions
that he (s) said after coming with them at the appointed place: "O Allah! These
are the people of my house." The sentence implies: I did not find anyone whom I
could call, except these four.

That this is the correct explanation may be seen
in the wording of some traditions which say: "ourselves refers to the Messenger
of Allah and 'Ali." It clearly shows that the tradition aims at describing who
had come under which category -not at explaining the literal meaning of the
words.

He says: "But those who forged these
traditions did not succeed in properly fitting their interpretation on the
verse. When an Arab says our women he never means his daughter - especially when
he has got wives too. Such thing is not known in their language. Even more
far-fetched is the claim that our selves means 'Ali."

First he has given an imaginary meaning to the
traditions, then he uses it as an excuse to discard all those narrations -in
spite of their numerousness, in spite of their great number. Then he discredits
its narrators and all those who have accepted them by accusing them of the crime
of Shi'ism! Had he been a true seeker of knowledge, he should have studied the
books of exegesis, and remembered the vast multitude of the masters of eloquence
and authorities of rhetorics, since they have quoted and written these
traditions in their books of exegesis and other subjects without any hesitation,
without any objection.

Look at the author of Tafsiru 'l-Kashshaf. He is a
recognized authority on Arabic--language, grammar and literature. He has often
pronounced judgment on various recitations of the Qur'an, showing why a certain
recitation was not in keeping with the norms of language or usage. And see what
he has to say about this verse: "And this verse contains a proof -unsurpassed in
strength -of the excellence of the people of the mantle, peace be on them. And
there is in it a clear proof of the truth of the prophethood of the Prophet,
because nobody -either a supporter or an antagonist has ever narrated that they
(the Christians) answered that call (for imprecation)."

How come that those giants of rhetorics and
champions of literature could not realize that these traditions -in spite of
their vast multitude and their repeated narrations in the books of traditions
-accuse the Qur'an of using incorrect expression by employing a plural (women)
for one woman only?

Not, by my life! This exegete is in fact confused;
he does not know the difference between the literal meaning of a word and its
application. Obviously, his thinking goes like this: " Allah said to His
Prophet, But whoever disputes with you in this after what has come to you of
knowledge, then say: 'Come let us call our sons and your sons and our women and
your women and our selves and your selves. ..' Now if we admit that the
disputers at that time were the delegates of Najran numbering according to some
traditions, fourteen men; and that there were no women or children with them;
and if after that we admit that when the Messenger of Allah (s) went for the
imprecation, he had with him only: 'Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, then
the phrase, whoever disputes with you, would literally mean the delegation of
Najran; our women would mean one woman; our selves would mean one 'self' ; and
your sons and your women would become words without meaning because there were
neither women nor sons in that delegation! "

I wonder why he forgot to add that it would also
mean use of our sons (a plural, meaning at least three sons) for only two sons,
because it is more repugnant than the use of plural for singular. Since
post-classical period, people have been using plural in place of singular
-although such use is not found in the classical Arabic, except when done as a
mark of respect. But the use of plural for dual is an unheard of thing -it has
no justification at all. However, it was this trend of thought which led him to
discard all these traditions, saying that they were forged. But he has
completely misunderstood the talk.

The fact is that an eloquent talk conforms with
the situation which it is related to, and throws light on what in a given
context is important to explain. Sometimes the talk is between two strangers,
neither knowing the other's life condition. Then they use normal expressions
which are applied in general talk. Suppose two groups are facing each other; one
of them wants the other to know that their conflict is deep-rooted, and that the
whole tribe, men and women, elders and youngsters -shall continue the fight till
the last. In such a situation, he will say: We shall fight you with our men,
women and children. Now this sentence is based on the assumption that normally
and naturally a tribe does have women and children. The statement aims at making
it clear to the enemy that the speaker's tribe is one in its determination to
fight against their adversary .On the other hand, if he were to say, 'We shall
fight against you with our men, a woman and two sons', it would be a superfluous
detail, uncalled for in this context -unless there be some good reason for it in
a particular situation.

But when the talk is between friends who know each
other's family, then it may be couched in general terms. For example, one may
say while inviting the other to his home: We are at your service -we ourselves
as well as our women and children. Or, he may wish to be more specific and say:
All of us will be at your service -the men, the daughter and the two children.

In short, normal way of expression is one thing
and its application on real facts is another matter. Sometimes they may
coincide, at other times they may be different. If a man speaks in normal and
general terms and then it appears that the real situation is different, he is
not accused of telling a lie.

This verse is based on the same principal.
Accordingly the words, ...then say: "Come let us call our sons and your sons and
our women and your women and our selves and your selves ...", means as follows:
Tell them that you are coming with your closest relatives who are your partners
in your claim and knowledge and invite them to come with their closest
relatives. Thus, the verse proceeds in the normal way assuming that the
Messenger of Allah had in his family men, women and sons, and the Christian
delegates had likewise men, women and sons in their families; it was a challenge
couched in general and usual terms. But when the time came to act on that
challenge, it was found that the Prophet did not have any men, women and sons
except one man, one woman and two sons, while his adversaries had no woman or
son with them -there were only men in their group. But this difference in
implementation did not falsify the challenge. That is why when the Prophet came
out with one man, one woman and two sons, the Christians did not accuse him of
lying or of not fulfilling the conditions; nor did they cover their refusal by
saying that the Prophet had told them to bring their women and sons which they
did not have with them at that time and therefore they were unable to enter into
imprecation. Also, it was because of this that those who heard this story never
imagined that it was a forgery.

The above explanation also shows the absurdity of
his assertion where he says: "Moreover, the delegation of Najran -concerning
whom the verse is said to be revealed -had not come to Medina with their women
and children."

He says: "The only thing which the verse
shows is that the Prophet was ordered to call the People of the Book (who were
disputing with him about 'Isa) to gather all -men, women and children -together;
and he was to gather the believers -men, women and children -together; in order
that they might earnestly pray to Allah to curse the party which was in the
wrong in its claim about 'Isa ...How can a believer in Allah agree to gather
such a group -consisting of the truthful ones and the liars -in one place to fix
their attention to Allah asking for His curse, to pray to remove the liars from
His mercy? Can anyone be more daring than such a person? Can anything be more
mocking to the Divine Power and Majesty than this? "

In short, the verse invites both parties to gather
together with their "selves", their women and their sons in one place and then
to earnestly pray for Allah's curse on the liars. Now let us find out what is
the meaning of this gathering which he talks about.

Was it a call to gather together all the believers
and all the Christians? But the believers at that time [6] included all, or
almost all, Arabs of the tribes of Rabi'ah and Mudar residing from Yemen and
Hijaz to Iraq and beyond. And the Christians included those in Najran (then
forming a part of Yemen), Syria and the regions around the Mediterranean Sea;
the Romans and the Franks, as well as the people of the Britain, Austria and
other places.

Such a vast multitude of people, scattered from
the East to the West, must have exceeded millions upon millions, counting men,
women and children all together. There can be no doubt whatsoever in the mind of
a sane person that it was almost impossible for all of them to gather in one
place. Normal ways and means reject such a proposition altogether. If the Qur'an
had offered this proposal then it had asked for an impossible. It would mean
that the Prophet was offering a conditional proof for the authenticity of his
claim -and the condition, on which it depended, was an impossible one! It would
have given an excuse -a valid excuse -to the Christians not to accept his call
of imprecation; in fact it would have been more damaging to his claim, rather
than weakening their case.

Or, does he mean that it was a call to gather from
both groups only those who were present thereby -the believers of Medina and
nearby places, and the Christians of Najran and the places in its vicinity? This
alternative -although less absurd than the preceding one -was no less
impossible. Who was capable that day of gathering all the residents of Medina
and Najran and their neighboring places, not leaving a single woman and child
out, in one place for the intended imprecation? Such proposal would have been an
admission that the truth was impossible to prove, because the proof depended on
an impossible condition.

Or, was it a call covering only those who were
actively engaged in the disputation and arguments? That is, the Prophet and the
believers around him, and the delegation of the Christians of Najran. But then
his own objection would boomerang: "Moreover, the delegation of Najran
-concerning whom the verse is said to be revealed -had not come to Medina with
their women and children." So the problem would not go away.

Further he says: "The Prophet and the
believers had full confidence in the truth of what they believed about 'Isa (a).
It may be understood from the words of Allah, after what has come to you of
knowledge," because knowledge in matters of belief means certainty only."

It is true that the knowledge, as used in this
verse, means certainty. But would that I knew where does it say that the
believers were sure of the truth of their belief concerning 'Isa? The verse does
not speak about anyone except the Prophet in singular pronouns: But whoever
disputes with you (lit. thee) in this after what has come to you (lit. thee) of
knowledge, then say (lit. say thou). And there was no reason why the verse
should have addressed anyone except the Prophet alone; the Christians'
delegation had only one aim before their eyes -to dispute and argue with the
Prophet. It was not their intention to meet the believers; they had not argued
at all with the believers, nor had the believers spoken to them.

If the verse shows at all that anyone other than
the Prophet had attained knowledge and certainty, it does so about those whom
the Prophet had brought with himself for imprecation, as we have inferred from
the words, and bring about the curse of Allah on the liars"

On the other hand, the Qur'an shows that not all
the believers had attained knowledge and certainty. For example :

And most of them do not believe in Allah without
associating others (with Him) (12:106). Here Allah announces their polytheism.
How can polytheism co-exist with certainty?

And when the hypocrites and those in whose heart
was a disease began to say: "Allah and His Messenger did not promise us
(victory) but only to deceive II ( 33 : 12).

And those who believe say: "Why has not a
chapter been revealed?" But when a decisive chapter is revealed, and fighting is
mentioned therein you see those in whose hearts is a disease look to you with
the look of one fainting because of death. Woe to them then! ...Those it is whom
Allah has cursed so He has made them deaf and blinded their eyes

Most of us have heard and know about Mubahila in
Madina between Holy Prophet (saw) and Christian leaders of Najran. Lot of us
don’t know what happened in Najran before they decided to come to Madina. There
was a very interesting meeting held for four days in Najran in which Religious,
Political leaders and scholars were invited to discuss on the letter they had
received from Holy Prophet (saw). This was a very interesting meeting in which a
great debate took place where one will learn:

How political leaders push their hypocritical
agenda.

How military leaders get emotional and forward
their war agenda.

How sincere people try to bring the truth out
and convince leaders to take the correct actions

How the religious leaders distort the facts in
order to keep their leadership intact for selfish reasons and

How history repeats and will help in
understanding of what is going on at present

If you want to know what happened in these four
days than listen to the speech # 172 through 179 of Seerat-e-Rasul series of
Moulana Sadiq Hasan available at the following link (speeches are in Urdu).

This is: 'And unto him who
disputeth with thee therein, after the knowledge hath come unto thee, Say! 'come
ye, let us summon our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and
ourselves and yourselves and then let us invoke and lay the curse of God on the
liars!' (Qur'an 3:61)

Here, all commentators agree
that our women refers to Fatimah al-Zahra (as), and that this is as the
Messenger of Allah (sawa) wanted it and showed it practically.

In the story of this dialogue
which the Prophet (sawa) commanded with some Christians, the Prophet (sawa) took
a new route to deal with the situation when the dialogue reached a dead end, and
it is this method of challenging which the verse tells us about.

The narration of the great Ali
bin Ibrahim al-Qommi, from Imam al-Sadiq (as) says that: 'The Christians of
Najran came (as a delegation) to the Messenger of Allah.... They prayed using
the bell; the Prophet's companion objected: O Messenger of Allah! This in your
mosque? He said: Leave them (to pray as they like). When they finished they came
to the Prophet (sawa) and said: To what do you call? He said: To bear witness
that there is no God but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah and that 'Isa
(Jesus) (as) is created a slave (of Allah), and eats, drinks and excretes. They
said: Then who is his father? The revelation was then revealed to the Messenger
of Allah (sawa) saying: Say to them - what do you say about Adam, has he been
created a slave (of Allah), eating, drinking, excreting and marrying? So the
Prophet (sawa) asked them and they replied: yes. He asked them: Then who is his
father? They could not answer, so Allah revealed: Verily, the similitude of
Jesus with God is as the similitude of Adam; He created him out of dust, then
said He unto him BE, and he became' (Qur'an 3:59) and 'And unto him who
disputeth with thee... let us invoke and lay the curse of God on the liars!' The
Messenger of Allah (sawa) said: So, challenge me: if I am telling the truth the
curse falls unto you, and if I am a liar the curse falls unto me. They said: You
are speaking in justice.

They agreed on a date for
mubahalah (challenge). When they returned to the places they were staying in,
their leaders al-Sayyid, al-'Aqib and al-Ahtam said: If he challenged us with
his people, we accept the challenge for he is not a prophet; but if he
challenges us with his family in particular we don't challenge him, for he is
not going to push forward his family unless he is truthful. In the morning, they
came to the Messenger of Allah (sawa) and with him the Commander of the
Faithful, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husain (as), so the Christians said: Who are
those? The people replied: This is his cousin and successor and son-in-law, and
this is his daughter Fatimah, and these are his sons al-Hasan and al-Husain. So
they became frightened and said to the Messenger of Allah (sawa): We give you
the satisfaction, so give us leave from the challenge.'

......'and our women': those
amongst women who represent the nearest position to my humanistic and spiritual
affiliation in my life, and here I put forward my daughter Fatimah, the Doyenne
of the Women of the World, who is 'part of me' and 'Allah becomes angry for her
anger and satisfied for her satisfaction' in this great challenge so as to prove
that I am absolutely sure about the truth of my call, for man does not put
forward his most beloved people to the places of danger unless he is certain of
safety.

WHEN ISLAM WON A CLEAR
VICTORY.....

“To those that argue with you
concerning Jesus after the knowledge you have received say: ‘Come, let us gather
our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves. We
will pray together and call down the curse of Allah on every liar’.” [Glorious
Quran Chapter 3 verse 61]

In the year 9AH Prophet Mohamed (SAW)
wrote to the heads of different tribes and countries of the world inviting them
to Islam. One of the letters was written to the Christian community of Najran.
A large delegation was appointed to go to meet the Prophet (SAW).

Warmly welcomed by the Prophet (SAW).
they were put up in one part of the mosque where they were allowed to perform
their prayers comfortably. They asked the Prophet (SAW). What he thought of
Jesus and he said: “He was a human being created by God and was a prophet.”

“Have you ever seen any child born in
this world without a father?” they asked. The Prophet (SAW) replied: “Jesus is
like Adam in the sight of Allah. He created him from dust and then said to him
'be' and he was.” [Glorious Quran Chapter 3 verse 59]

They could not answer his argument, but
continued to debate the issue. Then the ayah (verse) inviting them to a
“Mubahila” was revealed. When real arguments fail to produce the desired effect,
then to wish for the intervention of Allah’s judgement in order to sift the
right from wrong, is called Mubahila.

The Christians of Najran accepted the
challenge and at the appointed hour arrived at the place where the Mubahila was
going to take place. There they saw the Ahlul Kisa, the family of the Prophet:
The Prophet (SAW), Imam Ali (AS) Imam Hassan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) and
Sayyida Fatima (AS) and immediately their leader Abu Harith said:

“I see such faces that if they raise
their hands in supplication and pray to God that the biggest mountain may be
moved from its place, the same will happen immediately. We should in no
circumstance engage in a Mubahila with these sacred people because it is
possible that not even one of us may remain alive on the face of the earth.”
They withdrew from the Mubahila.

Mubahila confirmed

1. The Superiority of Islam
over other Revealed Religions

2. The Prestige of the five
holy personalities in the eyes of Allah swt

3. Who are the 'Ahlul Bayt
of the Prophet (pbuh)'

4. The relationship of
Al-Qur'an and the Ahlul Bayt a.s., and

5. Islam, Qur'an, Ahlul Bayt
and Pleasure of Allah swt - are different names for one and the same thing